Blog » New York

We visited Sake Caliente, a late-night pop-up at Azasu in the East Village, hosted by Chizuko Niikawa-Helton and specializing in hot sake.

Living in Japan, I'm not used to spending a lot of money for ramen. But while in NY, I shelled out $20 for a bowl of ramen and I would do it all over again.

I realized yesterday that Umami Mart will turn seven years old this month. WOOOOO! That's seven years of banter, restaurant reviews, recipes and... more banter! The fun never stops on Umami Mart, and although we're all seven years older (and a bit...

One of the things we were told we must do in New York was to have brunch. On the recommendation of my brother-in-law, we booked a table at Beauty and Essex to meet up with some of my sister Yuki's university friends who now...

My first-ever visit to New York was with my sister and it flew by. It's been four years since we travelled together and she's always so much fun -- we do a lot of laughing, shopping and, of course, eating. This time was no...

*Nahoko Morimoto is a Tokyo-based photographer. Her work has been featured in Brutus and Vogue Japan.

Though I created such a scene when I wrote about a certain four-star restaurant some time ago, I must write about my experience at Eleven Madison Park. Why?  Because it was above and beyond my expectations, and made me fully understand Daniel...

I just got back from the most lovely weekend in New York City. A dear friend from college is getting married this summer so we threw her a “Spice Shower” dinner party in our friend’s backyard in Brooklyn. It was a warm evening so...

I recently became a permanent resident of this country, and to celebrate my newly acquired freedom, we went to Le Bernardin. Though I know a lot about food, I haven't been to many top-notch restaurants because I end up bitching about its flaws. If you...

Did you know sake officially became Japan's national booze? It was announced in April I didn't know there was such a thing as a "national liquor", but I guess it's similar to vodka for Russia, and whisky in the UK?, what's for America?...

“Now, alcohol makes a big man small and can lead to life of crime. Drinking rum makes you skin-and-bone, and you cash in before your time. Bootleg gin for your Mickey Finn till you don't even know your name. You're a basket case right...

My most recent obsession is making anko (sweet bean paste) from scratch. As I wrote in my strawberry daifuku post a couple of weeks ago, using bean paste as dessert doesn't really exist in the west. But I am trying to find ways to...

Spaghetti alla Chitarra prepared by chef Dan Kluger at The Core Club. He is now the chef at ABC Kitchen in NYC. Photo by Erin Gleeson.

Drunken noodles at SriPraPhai in Woodside, Queens. From Umamiventure #4 in 2007. The savory hot sweetness of the dish still hovers in my memory. Photo by Irwin Chen.

I am really excited to have been chosen to be part of a food photography exhibition called "Feast Your...

Last week, NYC pastry chef extraordinaire Pichet Ong was a guest judge on Top Chef Just Desserts (aired September 22).  As he was introduced, some of my photos of his desserts were shown on the episode: Foie Gras Taco and Warm Date Cake (see...

The afternoon I took this picture in Hell's Kitchen was one of the steamiest days this summer, but that didn't stop New Yorkers from loving HOT 99¢ slices. I have a feeling I might look back at...

Chef Gabriel Kreuther of The Modern prepared this dish for the recent 4th Annual Taste of the Greenmarket benefit in NYC. Update from The Modern (Tues. 7/26, 12:45pm EDT): The dish is Needle Panna Cotta with Nasturtium flowers and...

In the past week there's been a lot of buzz in cocktail circles regarding the outcome of a legal dispute between Pusser's rum and Painkiller, a tiki bar in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. It's a story that's led to a...

PREFACE Skankynavia: In the US (Part 1 - Berkeley) Last week I listened to the great NYC radioshow called RadioLab. They deal with quirky science and interesting true stories, and last week's subject was "memory" (a rerun from 2007, listen here)....